"We have to be prepared to take on the great challenges and possibilities that exist for technologists in the High North," says Kirsti Hienn. She is the project manager of the Moment network for female technologists.

The female-dominated study programmes at public university colleges have far fewer professorships than the male-dominated ones. Those professorships that do exist are mainly held by men. This is revealed in a recent survey from the Norwegian Social Science Data Services. The figures are collected on behalf of the Committee for Mainstreaming – Women in Science.

In its proposition for the National budget, which was presented in the beginning of October, the Government states that it wants to focus on earmarking of academic posts for women.

What mechanisms lie behind who gets a career in physics and who leaves academia for other kinds of employment? What role does the workplace culture play in this? These and similar issues are being studied in an ongoing EU-project.

Minister of Education and Research Tora Aasland promises to reintroduce earmarking of posts for women in academia in 2009.

For almost five years Norway has had a national committee for gender equality in science. It has placed women in science on the agenda both with the authorities and the research sector.

Norwegian higher education institutions are positive to earmarking of posts for women.

Gender equality has been a priority in Spain the last years. But in the research sector little has changed. At the conference Women’s Worlds in Madrid Spanish scientists were inspired by Norway.

Minister of Education and Research Tora Aasland has said that she wants to implement national measures to promote gender equality in science. But do we know enough about the cause of the gender imbalance? The relationship between research and measures in academia has spurred debate in Norway this spring.

In Norway one in three university and university college rectors are women – an increase of 75 per cent in two years. All the same, we are having a hard time catching up with our Swedish neighbours, who, thanks to network building, are close to achieving full balance between the sexes.

In a new memo requested by the Ministry of Education and Research, the Committee for Mainstreaming - Women in Science recommends active use of gender quotas and earmarking of permanent and temporary positions for female scientists.

The Committee for Mainstreaming – Women in Science has looked at the need for a collaborative effort to build networks for female scientists in Norway. The pilot project found that there was an interest in strengthening and co-ordinating the networks.

The world will be a better place if more girls become engineers, says Camilla Schreiner. She does research on the connection between gender and choosing a career within the Natural Sciences.

The Ministry of Education and Research is requesting the KiF Committee to prepare models ensuring women employment in academic positions in male dominated fields. This autumn, the Ministry will announce the measures the various institutions can make use of.